The Denver Broncos went on the road to Seattle and lost a 1983 wild-card playoff game 31-7. There was a rookie quarterback named John Elway who played that day.

Well, the simple answer is we didn’t win a Super Bowl,” Nix said of his rookie year. “So there’s a lot to learn from, a lot to grow from.”

Denver put its first-round draft pick on the field immediately, and the payoff was the team’s first playoff appearance in nine years.